The Summer Of Our Lives
by SpobyOTP
Summary: Set during the end of Season 4 and right into Season 5. This covers the unseen moments between Damon and Elena. From Jeremy returning, to her deciding which colleges to apply to. Not to mention getting her friends to accept her decision, and her love for Damon Salvatore.
1. Chapter 1

**The First Night**

(Damon's POV)

I got the girl. After so many years of pining and yearning like a love-struck version of my old self, I finally got her to admit the things that she had been suppressing for years. The true feelings that I knew she had kept secret in a tiny, miniscule corner of her heart. Still...even though I knew that there would have to come a day when she finally let go of her self-righteousness and admit to me that she loved me, I thought I would have to wait a hell of a lot longer than I really did.

Close to three years isn't so bad I guess. Other people—or vampires—have had to wait longer, I guess. The first time I really knew that I was falling for her, wasn't during our first official dance together, though that was a personal, unexpected highlight of my year.

It was the first time I snuck into her room to watch her sleep like the stalker I am. She was lying on her back in her bed, something that I could identify with since I'm a back—sleeper myself, and her eyes were closed, her chest rising and falling with each slow breath she took.

She reminded me of Katherine in the looks, sure, but in most other ways, she was about as distant from that manipulative slut as it was possible to be. I screwed up plenty along the way with her, but ever since that damn sire bond ended, it was as if she had turned herself over to me, to her feelings that she was finally ready to act upon.

I'm not sure how long we stood there sucking each others faces after she professed her love for me. It might have been a couple hours, a few days. Hell, even a few weeks, but all I know that I had never felt so content in my one hundred plus years on this earth. Her body, which had always been a thing of beauty, seemed to mold against mine with the utmost perfection as her arms snaked themselves around my neck, drawing me in closer, and I sure as hell didn't resist the movements.

When we finally broke apart to get some air, I glanced toward the clock on the mantle. I was close—it was almost nine, and as far as I knew, we had been engaged in our kisses for awhile. It didn't matter, though. Time and everything that stood around it, disappeared the instant we were together.

We could have been doing what we were doing for a hundred years, and I wouldn't notice the difference, because I finally had the girl. I finally got her realize the love I harbored for her, and even though it scared me senseless to open up that part of myself again after Katherine, I was ready, and I knew that she was, too.

"That was-" she stopped herself at the last minute, obviously catching herself before she made a Damon-like remark, which I would have loved, but knew that she would be embarrassed at.

"Amazing?" I supplied, my voice lowering to the soft, gentle tone that was only reserved for one person.

"Yes," she breathed, slightly out of breath. "And beautiful."

"Beautiful?" I arched one eyebrow in a sincere show of surprise. "I never thought I'd hear that word tied into a sentence about me."

Us.

Not when every single soul on the planet seemed to be against Elena and I being happy together. It was as if those people, my brother included, and her so-called "best friends" just wanted to see her live out a lie with someone that she didn't really love like she was supposed to.

"It _was _beautiful," she insisted, lowering those puppy dog eyes of hers as she took both my hands into her tiny ones, as she leaned her body closer to mine. "It was perfect, Damon."

"Elena," I said, pulling back, because that part of me that was so used to being hurt by her, and her never-ending feelings for my brother, had to be sure that this was the real deal this time, and not some momentary thrill that she would regret later. "I hate to put a halt to all this, but are you _sure_?"

"Sure about what?" she asked, pulling one eyebrow up in a complete show of confusion.

"About this," I said, gesturing around the room at the cheesy lit fire that I had thought to light at the last minute, and the Vanilla scented candles that conveniently been burning when she had come in. "About _us?_"

She shook her head, like she was honestly confused as to why I would be questioning her motives in that instant. It was pathetic, but I needed to make sure before I completely lost myself in this impossible dream that had snowballed into a reality far beyond my wildest expectations.

"_Yes_," she said firmly, her brown eyes meeting my blue with an intensity that even _I _was taken aback about. "I have never been so sure about anything in my entire _life_."

"Well, in that case," I said, my lips turning upward into a hopeful pout, as they captured hers in a kiss once again. We seriously couldn't keep our hands off each other, and why should we? We were both immortal beings, who had our entire lives to be all domestic and have two point five kids, adopted of course, and a lawn and all that boring stuff.

Right now, it was all about reveling in the reality that she was mine, and she had chosen me. Finally.

"I finally let my heart do the talking," she gasped between kisses, the intensity surprising even her, who had been known to do some pretty hot and heavy love-making herself.

"And not that brainy head of yours?" I teased, pulling back so I could allow her to finish her speech.

"Very funny," she said, throwing me her signature 'annoyed as hell' look. "I was letting my head do the talking," she continued, as she moved some of her hair from around her gorgeous face. "Stefan was the safe option, but I kept ignoring what I was feeling for you-"

"And you finally got tired of the charade?"

"I did," she confirmed. "I'm not going to be someone I'm not. I'll always love Stefan," she said softly, either ignoring the soft wince I made when she mentioned my baby bro like that, "but I love _you_, Damon."

"I love you, too-"

And just like that, our blissful, carefree time was up. The door to the boarding house slammed open with such a seemingly earth-shattering bang that it momentarily caught us _both _off guard.

Instead of it being a worldwide crisis or some hybrids creating more havoc for us to sort through, it was only Donovan...and Jeremy. Last I knew, the door to the other side that had allowed people from the dead to come back, had been closed. Lexi, Jeremy and so many others had been forced back to their positions, but apparently not him.

"Jeremy?" Elena said, stepping foreword one half an inch, as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing as being true. "I thought that-"

"I know," baby Gilbert said, "but I'm back."

"For good," Matt supplied.

"But—but _how_?"

"Bonnie did a spell," Jeremy said carefully, "and it worked."

Of course. Bennett witch always saves the day, but in this case, I actually owed her one thanks to the fact that my girl looked like unicorns and fairies existed all over again, as she gave out a hell of a high squeal and threw her arms around her brother.

"Oh, Jer," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I thought you were gone."

"I know. I did, too."

"Where's Bonnie now?" I asked, venturing to ask since no one had bothered to broach that topic yet. If she was the hero who had miraculously managed to revive Elena's brother, I owed her a high-five, and maybe something more.

"She's...she's not here. She had to go on a road trip."

"Now?" I asked incredulously.

Not that witches made a lick of sense to begin with, but her suddenly flaking right after resurrecting Jeremy, seemed more than a little fishy to me.

"It was an emergency. Her father needed her."

"Oh, okay," Elena said, a slight frown crease appearing between her eyebrows as she stepped back from her brother finally. "When did she say she was going to be back?"

"I don't know when."

"Okay."

"Well," I said, finally breaking the uncomfortable ice that had settled over us. "Pick a room, Gilbert."

Not that I minded having another house guest when the place was so enormous, but it would have been nice to have had that time with just Elena and me, and not her ever nosy little brother.

"Sure," he finally said.

"Was he acting different?" Elena asked, once the sounds of his footsteps had disappeared from our ears.

"Completely."

* * *

The first night was even better that the first evening. After Elena had finished fawning over baby Gilbert, she found me in my room—our room—and instantly bounced her way onto the bed, blankets and carefully arranged pillows flying all over the place, as she laid her head on my chest, breathing deeply, contentedly as her eyes fluttered shut.

"Why are you so happy?" I whispered, as my finger traced careful lines across her full lips.

"Because I'm here," she said, opening her eyes to capture mine. "And because Jeremy's okay."

"I'm glad," I said.

"It worries me about Bonnie, though. Why wouldn't she at least _tell _me that she was going away? I could have helped her pack, I could have been there if something was really wrong with her father."

Typical Elena. Taking on the problems of the world that didn't even concern her. It was an endearing quality, and one that always made me question the sanity in being with her, but her compassion had always been her Achilles heel, and the one thing that had kept her from me for so long.

"Elena," I said firmly. "Bonnie is fine. She's a big girl, she can handle her crap _just _fine."

"I know but-"

"Nope," I interrupted. "No buts."

"Damon-"

"Don't 'Damon' me," I retorted. "Just _be _for one second without worrying about anything else. This is finally _our _time."

"I know it is. Did you talk to Stefan?"

"I did, and he fully supports our relationship, Elena."

While Stefan hadn't exactly been _glowing _about hearing us makeout in the other room, he had been surprisingly diplomatic about it, and had even given us his blessing, something I _never _thought I would hear come from his mouth.

"He _does_?"

"Yep."

"Good. I have to talk to him, though, try to make him understand."

"He's gone, Elena. He left town a few hours ago."

"He did?"

"Yeah."

That was always part of the pact we had made with each other. If she chose one of us, the other one would go and leave the other to be happy. Not that I wanted him gone, I didn't, but if he couldn't stand to see us be happy with each other, then it was probably best.

"Okay," she finally said, after a few seconds of silently internalizing the bombshell I had dropped on her. "I'll find him later."

"Okay."

"I love you, Damon."

"Hmm. I know. I love you, too."

* * *

_This is a one-shot series that covers their summer before she goes off to college, and some other moments in between. Hopefully this will hold me (and my readers) over during this torturous hiatus, and if there's any one-shot in particular that you would like to see, just let me know._

_Reviews are my favorite! _


	2. Chapter 2

**The First Morning**

(Elena's POV)

The sleep was restless—hours spent tossing and turning in the bed that Damon and I now shared—before I finally managed to drift off into a somewhat peaceful rest. The day had started off crazy, and had ended up exactly the same way. Admitting my feelings for Damon, the feelings I had rejected and pushed back for so long because of how guilty I felt, came full circle as that part of me that had denied it, buried itself, and the new me could come out.

I loved him.

For all I knew, I always had, but had been unable to see it when he had done so many wrong things to push me away from him. I loved him for so many different reasons that would take up too much time to explain, but I loved him for his kindness to me, for his frustrating ability to see right through me in the worst and best of times, and for his insistence on always saving me despite my wishes to the contrary.

I loved Stefan still.

A part of me always would, but just in a different, more complicated way than before. He had been the one to save me after my parent's car had tumbled off the bridge in the middle of the night. After that, still, he had been the one to mend the fractured pieces of my heart back together.

Stefan had been my first real love. A love that had sustained me through some of the more dark periods in my life, but Damon was my _true _love. I realized that during the times that he and I searched for Stefan after Klaus compelled him, and even more recently, during the confusion of the sire bond.

Damon had been the one to literally bring my humanity back to me. He _was_ my humanity.

He was my love.

He was my boyfriend now.

Rolling over on my other side to face him, I was rewarded with the most wonderful, peaceful sight of his eyes gently closed as he slept. We had fallen asleep with our fingers intertwined with each other, but we had drifted apart in sleep.

Smiling softly, I carefully eased my way off the bed, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep still. We both had had long days the day before, and an even longer night with both of us feeling far too exhilarated to accomplish much sleep until the wee hours of the morning.

My feet pressing against the hardwood floor of his bedroom, I carefully extracted the articles of clothing that had been abandoned during the night, and slipped them back on, feeling like a teenager who was sneaking out of her lover's bedroom in the early morning hours.

Now it was more like sneaking out until I could figure out a way to clue Jeremy in to the new status of our relationship without him finding out in some awkward way that we were together.

The kitchen, which we barely used anymore thanks to the near none-existence of humans, except now for Jeremy, was empty. Jeremy was apparently occupying one of the six other bedrooms in the upstairs area. Sighing softly, needing to do something to get my mind off the fact that Jeremy was alive again, and Bonnie, my best friend who had mysteriously brought him back, was gone.

Digging through the sparsely used fridge, proved fruitless when most of the food inside, was grossly outdated. Throwing it in the trash by the tips of my fingers, I mentally prepared a grocery list in my head while I went around the kitchen, trying to find _something _edible for him to eat with.

The Grille was always an option, but I didn't want him to eat something that wasn't at home, something that didn't come from me. Running my hand through my hair, I I turned when I heard the distinctive sound of footsteps approaching, and the faint _thud thud thud _of a beating heart that signaled that Jeremy had finally awoken, and had come down for the day.

"Hey," I said, forcing a neutral expression on my face as I turned to face my little brother. "How did you sleep?" It wasn't often that one came back to life, and I was concerned as to how he was handling the new transition.

"It was okay," he offered.

"Good. What room did you sleep in?"

"I think it was the one with the old blood stain on the wall."

I smiled—it felt good on my face after so many days and weeks of uncertainty and stress in relation to the cure and my never ending battle with Damon over who would take it.

"I remember seeing that. Do you want any breakfast?" I asked, searching through some more cupboards before finally giving up on my quest, and making a determination that I would do something adventurous like go to the grocery store for once in my life.

"Sure," he said, pausing in his statement as he looked at me rifling through the cupboards, and then at the trash can which was full of the discarded, rotten items that I had thrown away. "_Is _there any food?"

"Uh, no," I admitted. "We have to stop and pick a few things up."

Especially if there would be a still growing boy living under the same roof as Damon and I. We didn't need the food as much as he did, and he was the one who was still growing and still experiencing all the transitional changes from teenager to adulthood.

"Alright."

"Look, Jer-" I started to say, wondering how I would begin to broach the subject of how Damon and I were together now, and Stefan was out of the picture.

"I know, Elena."

"You do?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

How would he possibly know that Damon and I were official now? Unless he had heard some things last night that weren't meant for his ears. Just thinking that, brought a rare sort of panic to the surface as I imagined all the things that could have gone wrong last night.

"Yeah, I do. I know that you're upset with Bonnie over her not telling you that she was leaving."

Oh.

So that's what it was.

I know I shouldn't have felt relief at the mysterious disappearance of my best friend, but at least Jeremy hadn't noticed anything about Damon and I before I had a chance to talk to him.

"I mean, yeah, I _am _sort of upset," I admitted, trying to sort through the upset over Bonnie leaving without so much as saying goodbye to me, but I knew that if it was an emergency with her father, she would have left town immediately without a second thought.

"I know, but she'll be back. In the meantime, you can still email and text."

"I can?"

"Yeah. She just can't really talk right now because of the situation she's in."

"Jeremy, is everything okay?"

I wasn't the only one who had noticed how odd he had been acting when he first walked through the door with Matt. At first I assumed that it was because of the shock of returning to the world of the living, but Damon had also noticed how odd he had been acting.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know."

"Everything's _fine_," he said, rolling his eyes at my characteristic concern over him.

"Okay, good," I said with a slow, but uncertain smile. "I have something to tell you, okay?"

"Okay, what?"

"Do you promise to keep an open mind?"

"Open mind about what?"

I was about to tell him—it was on the edge of my lips to give it to him straight, and let him figure out the rest, but I never got the chance, because in that instant, a hand slithered around my waist that was most definitely _not _my brother's, and spun me around.

"Good morning," he said, knowing _exactly _what he was doing as he planted a soft kiss right on my lips, and right in front of my brother who had no idea that we were together officially.

"Damon, stop," I said, pushing him off me, but unable to hide the smile that came to my face whenever I was even in the general _proximity _of his presence.

"What?" he defended, a fake pout coming across his mouth. "You liked it last night," he said, as his finger traced down my jawline.

"I know. But-"

I turned back to face Jeremy who was still frozen in place at the counter. It was clear that he hadn't been expecting our very _public _display of affection, but he tried to play it off with a quiet shrug.

"So you two are-"

"Together," I said, looking up into Damon's oceanic blue eyes, and was rewarded with a single nod of agreement from him. A united front in the truest sense of the word as I reached down the length of his arm to hold his hand.

"When did that happen?"

"Last night."

In reality, my heart had been sewn to his way before the night before, but I had just been too stupid to realize it until now.

"Does Stefan know?"

"You ask _way _too many questions," Damon said, lightening the tense mood without even realizing it.

"He does. I haven't seen him though."

"Whatever," Jeremy said breezily. "Whatever works for you guys."

"In the meantime," I said, turning to face Damon. "We have to go to the store and buy some things-"

"Like food?" Damon supplied.

"Yes."

"On it."

* * *

Going to the grocery store was something I never dreamed I would be doing with Damon by my side. He had insisted that we go together since he had no inkling of what Jeremy liked and didn't like, and I think also to spend some quality time with me before we had to go back to the mansion.

"What did he say about Bonnie?" Damon asked, as he stopped in one aisle to grab some pop-tarts that was on the master list that Jeremy had somehow magically whipped up.

"Nothing," I said, feeling myself get more and more upset with each passing word that left my mouth. "He said that she's with her Dad, but there's something _more_, Damon."

"Like what?"

"Like, I don't know what," I admitted.

"I'm sure she's fine. I'm sure that by the time fall rolls around, and you leave this place for school, she'll be right there with you guys."

I didn't want to think about school. It was too soon for my liking. I didn't want to leave Damon and the life that we were _just _trying to figure out and start together, but I knew that I didn't have much of a choice if I wanted to experience all the things I wouldn't ever get to experience as a human.

"We need some more of this," I said, trying to cover the fact that I was upset at the idea of leaving, as I grabbed some random cleaner from the shelf and tossed it in the cart.

"We've never used Tide before," he pointed out, raising an eyebrow that was clearly meant to say 'what the hell is wrong with you?'

"Oh. Sorry-"

"Elena, what's wrong?" he asked, stepping from behind the cart where he had been pushing it like a gentleman to stand next to me, our bodies crunched together in the tight space that we were in between the shelf and cart.

"I just don't like thinking about going to school."

"Why not?"

"Because it will mean leaving you."

"Elena, we have the entire summer to worry about that. I think you should forget about it and help me scout out the rest of the junk that your brother wants."

"Okay."


	3. Chapter 3

**Telling Barbie**

(Damon's POV)

Elena and I had been lucky to have had a few, wonderful days (minus Jeremy) of complete privacy and freedom. I heard it was essential for new couples who were just starting out. Our days were filled with making sure that Jeremy made up the credits to go back to school in the fall (seriously, how in the hell does Elena expect him to do _that_?), and cooking lessons (more on that later).

It was the picture of domestic bliss that I never even _thought_ I would come close to with her, or anyone for that matter. Certainly not with Katherine, who was more of the eat, snatch, erase person that I had grown out of under Elena's influence.

Jeremy was still adjusting to being back in the land of the living, and that was fine. He wasn't too much of a nuisance unless you counted the time he had 'accidentally' thrown out my secret stash of bourbon after getting drunk with Donovan, or when he set off the fire alarm and had the paramedics flocking through the secret vampire nest they were lucky to escape from.

Those minor incidences aside, we were living the kind of life that I had dreamed about only in my best dreams. I had the girl by my side, still confused about Stefan's location, but she was handling the pressure well, if only she could forget about my baby bro and why he wasn't returning her ten thousand voice mails and texts.

"Hey," I said.

Smooth, Damon.

She was lounging on the sofa by the lit fireplace, reading some manual or pamphlet.

"Hey back," she said, looking up from her reading material to capture my gaze. "What are you doing?"

"Watching you."

I could have watched her for a hundred years in that position, but I knew that wouldn't exactly be up her alley. To my disappointment, she moved and put the pamphlet down to sashay over to my side. Looping her arms around my neck, she peppered my face with a few, tiny kisses before drawing back.

"I'm looking at colleges," she said, a slight frown appearing on her mouth, as though she was upset that she was finally furthering her education, or worried about _my _reaction to it.

The girl, seriously, had issues that needed to be worked out when it concerned the compassion and empathy she felt for people. Me, personally, I was _dreading_ having her move away when we were just starting out, but I wasn't going to hold her back from her dreams, certainly.

"What kind of colleges?" I asked, trailing my finger down her face.

"Not those kind," she said, batting my finger away playfully. "I've been looking at some that are close to here."

That was promising.

And encouraging.

It saved me gas on the car, and it also saved me the risk of exposure by magically zooming over to the school where she would be engaged in roommates, fights over clothes and makeup and all the stuff that she wouldn't ever get to experience as a human.

"What schools have you looked at?" I asked, trying to keep my expression neutral so she wouldn't feel the need to shut down and avoid the issue like she had been doing for weeks now.

"Nothing, really," she said, toying around the issue. "I _was _looking at Whitmore, though."

"The one here?"

"Yeah. Why? Do you know it?"

"No, not really. I heard some rumors about it back in the day."

Not to mention the secret Augustine society that operated under the basis of torturing people—mainly vampires—and using them for some sick experiments. I _definitely_ had fond memories of that place, but I wasn't about to burden Elena with that knowledge when all the operating members of that secret cult, were most definitely gone, killed by my hand after I escaped.

"What kind of rumors?" she asked playfully, a smile creeping across the edges of her mouth.

"Oh, nothing. Just bad food, bad punch."

"Oh, well, I think I'll survive."

"I hope so," I said, lowering my mouth to grace hers with a kiss.

"Elena-"

And just like that, our moment of privacy was rudely interrupted. Again. It was becoming a theme with us. We get a moment of peace, and then something happens to interrupt it.

Looking back at the source of the interruption this time, I was greeted with the sight of my least favorite person. Caroline.

"Hey, Care," Elena said, straightening up as she pushed away from me.

"Hey. Did I...interrupt something?" she asked, barely throwing me a glance as she strutted her way into the house. She had to learn some manners, but telling _her _that was pointless.

"Looking at colleges," Elena said, covering nicely.

"With _him_?" she asked, as though I was the worst kind of person to be seeking educational advice from.

"Yes," Elena said, squaring her shoulders against the obvious implications that Caroline was making.

I was impressed.

"What about Stefan?" Caroline asked, ignoring me completely as though I was the scum of the earth, which to her, I was.

"He's not going."

"Why not?" she asked with a scoff. "I thought the plan was-" 

"It changed," Elena interjected. "_We _changed."

"What do you...mean?"

"Listen up, blondie," I said, deciding to save Elena the trouble of explaining our current relationship status to her. "It's none of your business-"

"Damon-" Elena started to say, no doubt catching the superior look Caroline threw me, as though she was the only one who had the right to judge me.

"No, it's fine," Caroline said. "I didn't expect anything less from him."

"Caroline," Elena said, with a sigh. "Damon and I are _together_ now."

The way Elena bowed her head, as though she was ashamed of admitting this to her best friend, the one who was supposed to be supportive and happy for her, but instead was now looking at her as though she had suddenly contracted some horrible disease.

"What about Stefan?" she asked.

"I can't help that," Elena said. "I love Damon, and I know that you have your issues with him, but if you're my best friend like you say you are, you can support me and be happy."

"Or get out," I put in, directing my head toward the front door which she had just rudely barged through.

"You shut up," Caroline snapped. "How could you _do_ this?"

"Easy," Elena said, with a shrug. "I love Damon. I love Stefan, too, but I don't want to live a lie with him, and that's what I would be doing if I was still with him."

"But-"

"Listen," I said, deciding to do my best to be cordial with her for Elena's sake. "I can appreciate your concerns and input, but this is really between me and her."

"Whatever," she said, turning tail on _both _of us, and walking out the door.

"That went well," she said, breaking the silence that had fallen over us.

"She'll get over it."


	4. Chapter 4

**The Nightmare **

(Elena's POV)

Even though I tried to tell myself that Stefan was fine, that he was simply honoring the deal he and Damon had made for when I made my final decision, I couldn't stop the incessant ache in the center of my stomach that made me know that _something _wasn't right. It wasn't like him to ignore our calls and texts, especially mine and Damon's.

Still, I tried to keep my head up and I tried to remember that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. I had other issues on my mind besides that, and the most pressing was establishing a crazy sense of normal around Damon and our close circle of friends and family.

Caroline refused to speak with me, and whenever she did, I was met with the kind of sidelong look that made think I'd kicked a puppy instead of choosing the love of my life over someone that I loved, yes, but not as much as I loved Damon.

For the time being, it was best to stay away from her so I wouldn't risk stirring the pot and her unwanted wrath over me choosing Damon. Friends were supposed to be supportive of their friends no matter what they thought of their choices, and though I agreed that Damon had done some pretty horrific things in the past, that was in the past, and that was where I intended to keep it.

The past was the past, and he was different than he was back then. He was kinder, gentler and more accepting of people and their feelings. I admired him for sticking up for me with Caroline, and allowing Jeremy to stay with us at the boarding house, even though I knew that his presence was a cause for concern when it came time for us to enjoy some one-on-one time that was normal and healthy for new couples.

With all those thoughts running through my already over-crowded brain, it was a wonder that I even remembered to send in my college applications. The deadline was rapidly approaching, and if I wanted to be considered as a student in that college, I knew I would have to get my priorities in order and stop worrying about the things I couldn't change.

Walking upstairs to our room, I paused briefly in the hallway as I looked in on Jeremy. He was laying on the new bed that we had purchased for him. His headphones firmly planted in his ears as he listened to some eighties rock band that our Dad used to love.

Catching his gaze, I waved to him before continuing with my intended path. Night was the only time that Damon and I really had time to be together. During the day, we were both busy with our own schedules and our own things to do, but night was the time that we were completely free from anything else, and could simply _be _for once.

Not surprisingly, Damon was already in our room, lying down on the bed that had become an escape for me. Just him and me in that room, in that bed, spending the kind of quality time together that had become as rare as anything in our lives.

Allowing a grin to grace my face, I ran headlong toward the bed, and landed with a bounce at the center of it, pillows and blankets becoming askew as I laughed at the complete look of incredulity on Damon's face. It wasn't often that I let myself enjoy a moment, not when everything was so muddled and confusing now.

"Someone's in a good mood," he remarked, raising an eyebrow in clear question.

"I am. I'm happy," I replied, looking back at him.

"I'm glad," he said, as he leaned foreword to wrap his arm around my waist, pulling me back down to lay beside him, ignoring my squeals of utter delight as I playfully fought against him.

"Hmm," I said, closing my eyes as I perched my head on his chest, the place that I most often laid to rest when we were in bed together. As usual, and much to my comfort, his arm came to rest around my back, subconsciously shielding me from harm.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked softly, as he leaned over briefly to shut the lights out, bathing us in total darkness.

"Nothing. Just you," I whispered.

"I'm glad to be the object of your thoughts, but I know there's more."

He knew me too well. One of the pitfalls of our relationship is that he knew me better than I knew myself sometimes, and that includes calling me out on my white lies to protect him from the truth, and another pointless argument.

"It's just...Stefan," I said, avoiding his piercing gaze before finally taking a dare to meet it. When I did, I saw nothing but the same careful concern, but a little fear had crept into his expression, as well.

"What about him?"

"It's nothing like you think," I assured him, placing my palm flat on his cheek.

"Then what is it?" he asked softly, turning me around so that I was lying against him, my head tucked under his chin.

"He hasn't answered _any _of my calls or texts. I'm worried."

"Oh, you know Stefan, he's probably out enjoying a bunny feast as we speak."

I smiled; I couldn't help it.

"Maybe. Maybe you're right."

"Hmm, of course I am," he said, as he pressed a kiss to the crown of my head.

"Has he responded to you?"

"Nope. I tried, but he's off brooding somewhere probably."

"Maybe," I somewhat agreed.  
"Listen," Damon said, bending his head down to face me upside down. "We'll go on Project Find Stefan tomorrow, okay?"

I nodded, grateful that he was meeting me halfway and taking my concerns seriously. "Okay."

"In the _meantime_," he said firmly, as he gently drew the blankets up around us. "You need to sleep. You're exhausted."

"No, I'm not."

In reality, I _was, _and once again, I couldn't believe that he was able to see right through the lie. I was tired from rushing my college application through, even though I could have always compelled the administrators to let me in, and I was tired from worrying about Stefan and where he could be that he wasn't answering my calls or texts.

"You see that eyebrow above your left eye?" he asked, tracing one finger along the eyebrow in question.

"No, not technically," I said, my lips turning into a pout. "What's your point?"

"It always shakes when you're tired," he said. "You need to go to sleep. We can deal with Stefan and his mysterious MIA act tomorrow."

"Okay," I finally agreed, even though I was still resisting the idea of going to sleep when there was so much gray matter in my mind. As I switched myself from lying on his lap, to turning on my side toward him, he copied my movements, as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"I love you, baby."

"I love you, too," I whispered.

It was a ritual that we had done every night since I admitted my feelings toward him. Regardless if one of us had done something to annoy the other, which was fairly common with both of our high-strung personalities, we always ended the night with an "I love you" to each other.

As I extracted my arm that had been pinned underneath my body to reach for his hand, I felt the kind of peace that I had been longing for all day long as he gently intertwined his fingers with mine. I felt safer when we did that, when we fell asleep holding hands.

Pretty soon, I felt myself slipping back into that other dimension of my mind called "sleeping," It was an escape on the best of days, and on the worst of days, it was an absolute must as I drifted off into that part of my mind that had been raring to come out all day.

Instead of the blissful sleep that I had envisioned for myself, I saw what my worst fears had been trying to get me to confirm: Stefan trapped in a box coffin of some kind, underneath the water, drowning over and over again as he beat helplessly on the box, begging to be let out.

It was the kind of dream that I knew my mind was trying to send to me to get a message across. Stefan was hurt, in danger even, and there was nothing he could do to get himself out of it.

No matter if I had chosen the right destiny, the right path for me, I would always love him, and seeing him in that position, was enough to jolt me right out of the sound sleep I had been trying to enjoy. Tears sprang to the corners of my eyes as I thrashed out at the blankets and pillows around me, as though I had been in that coffin myself.

"Elena," Damon said, his voice clearly startled as he turned on the light beside his side of the bed. "Baby, what's wrong?" he asked, his eyes catching sight of my frazzled appearance, and the blankets and pillows that had been ripped off the bed.

"Stefan—he—he," I sobbed, not even able to get the words out as I sat up straighter in bed, and was immediately enveloped in one of Damon's comforting hugs. "He's—he's..."

"He's what?" Damon asked soothingly, as he tucked my head under his chin, as he gently stroked my hair.

"He's in trouble, Damon."

"What do you mean? What kind of trouble?" he asked, as he drew back from me to study my appearance, and what I was trying to communicate to him.

"I don't know," I said, as I scrubbed a hand over my face. "It's bad, Damon."

"What did you see?"

"I saw him in a _box_. He was drowning over and over again in some quarry, and he couldn't get out."

"Elena, just breathe," Damon said, seeing how upset I was getting all over again in talking about it. "We'll find him. We'll figure out what the hell this dream means, and we'll get him back."

"Do you believe me?" I asked.

"Yes. Yes, I do."


	5. Chapter 5

**Project Find Stefan**

(Damon's POV)

The nightmare Elena had suffered from, had disturbed both of us in different ways. It hadn't been easy for her to experience it and then find some measure of peace large enough to fall back asleep, but it hadn't been easy on _me _to watch her go through the split second moment of terror that she had felt upon waking up.

Eventually, she had managed to fall back asleep once her head had come to rest on my chest, but it had been a long time of listening to her cry herself back to sleep, and rubbing her back the way she liked me to. It wasn't anything I had been concerned about before now, but the fact that she was now beginning to have psychic visions of Stefan in some kind of danger, was beginning to concern me, even though I would never admit that to her for fear she would start spouting out those tears again.

The morning came far too early for our liking as the sun streamed in through the heavily curtained area of my bedroom. Did I mention that one myth about vampires remained steadfast and true? We _love _having it nice and dark, especially for those of us who aren't lucky enough to be touting around those nifty daylight rings.

In a way, I was also dreading the morning coming. It meant that Elena would be waking up far too early after the near sleepless night she had endured, and I wanted her to remain unconscious for as long as she could.

Leaning toward her, I pressed a soft kiss to her temple, hoping to erase any residual fears that may have been left lingering after her hellish night. Much to my disappointment, she stirred slightly, moaning as she threw out one arm, almost batting me in the face had I not moved out of the way in time.

Did I mention she was also an erratic sleeper?

Opening one eye blearily, she glanced at me. Instead of the forlorn look I was expecting from her, I saw instead a slight smile appearing on her face as she reached out a hand toward me. I took it instantly, as I tried to return the smile that she was giving me.

"Morning," she rasped.

"Morning back," I replied. "You look exhausted."

It was true—instead of the fresh look that I was used to in the morning, she looked like she had stepped out of a cave. Dark circles clung under her eyes, and the yawns that she kept trying to stifle without much success, was also another serious indicator that she was lacking in the sleep department.

"I am," she admitted.

Yet another shocker. It was rare that she admitted to feeling anything beyond what she knew I wanted to hear. Sighing softly in sympathy, I pushed her back down when she attempted to get up to solider on with her day.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"We have to start looking to make sure he's fine," she insisted, ignoring the arm that kept pinning her down in the impossible hope that she would ignore the crisis that she thought was happening with Stefan, and just allow herself to take a moment.

"Elena, I know," I said softly, "but you also need to rest."

I knew it was a lost cause. Not when her mind was going into 'save Stefan against all odds' overdrive, but I was hoping to deflect her from her intended path just a little bit. No such luck, she simply gave me a look as though I was the dumbest vampire on the planet, and started getting dressed.

"He could be in trouble, Damon," she reminded me, looking back over her shoulder as she shrugged on her clothing for the day.

"Or he could be fine," I said.

"I know that, and I hope he is, but it doesn't feel like that this time."

"What do you want to do?" I asked, stating the obvious, because how were we supposed to find him in a quarry that we didn't even know existed?

"Call Caroline, and see if she's heard from him recently."

"And if she has?"

"Then I'll be fine. It would just be another bad nightmare."

"Okay."

Grateful that she wasn't going full out Lara Croft yet, I settled for watching as she manically typed on her phone, sending Caroline the message that would either confirm her worst fears, or deny them in a second.

"Heard anything yet?" I asked, as we finally left the safe haven of our room, and started down the grand staircase.

"No. Not yet," she said with a sigh, as she flopped down on the sofa. A dejected look on her face, like a lost puppy, as she laid her head on my shoulder the instant that I sat down next to her.

"You will," I said, as I absently played with her hair. It was a force of habit with me. I couldn't stop touching her, and it was nearly impossible when the opportunity was right in front of me.

"Well, what if she's still not speaking to me?"

She had a point there. Blondie had taken the news of our relationship badly to say the least, and instead of being a supportive, controlling friend, she had decided to abandon Elena and prance off to feed someone else with her self-righteous crap.

"I think if it's about Stefan-"

I didn't even have to finish my sentence. Her phone chirped with the arrival of a new message, and as I looked over her shoulder at the text, I could hear her breathing a sigh of relief. According to Barbie, Stefan had texted her the day before.

"Are you okay now?" I asked.

"Yeah. It must have just been a crazy dream or something."

"Probably."

"What was a crazy dream?" Jeremy asked, deciding to take that moment to walk into the room.

"Nothing," I said, with such a finality that Elena even looked up.

"I was having some dreams," she explained, straightening up. "About Stefan."

"What about him?" he asked, as he dropped down into a seat beside me.

"Nothing really. It's fine now."

"Oh, okay."

"We need to go and get you registered for classes," Elena said, suddenly remembering her parental obligation to her nearly of age little brother.

"Elena, do you honestly think I'm going back to school?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in a show of complete incredulity.

I had to hand it to him: he had a point. How was Elena supposed to explain away the death and now reappearance of her little brother? Either he was a complete freak with issues that couldn't be explained, or he had been magically resurrected by an ancient magic that couldn't be explained.

"We'll think up a story, but I think you should go back."

"I'll see," he said, throwing her the kind of look that meant that he was getting ready to fight her to the death on it.

"No," I said. "You'll listen to your sister. Are we clear?"

"Screw you-"

"Hey, I happen to own the bedroom that you're crashing in. I would be a little nicer to me if I were you, and to your sister. Now go up to your room and get your things together."


	6. Chapter 6

**A Blowout and A Getaway**

(Elena's POV)

Jeremy was still furious with me by the time we got back to the boarding house. In theory, I understood his point of view concerning the issue of going back to school, but he couldn't stay locked up here forever like some cave dweller. Sooner or later, people would be bound to notice he was alive anyway, might as well think up a convincing story and let the kids think what they may after that.

The entire time we sat talking to the school administrators he threw me the kind of look that promised revenge by the time we got back. I was prepared for that, even though I knew that by starting a fight with me, he would risk incurring the wrath of Damon, who couldn't resist the chance to defend me when someone, even my own brother, was arguing with me.

It was with those thoughts running through my mind and how best to defuse them, that I walked ahead of he and Damon and through the unlocked front door. In a house full of vampires, the need to be aware of stupid things like locks and bolts didn't really make much sense.

Throwing my bag down on the chaise, I made a straight path toward the kitchen in the hopes of starting something homey like lunch, and just forgetting the entire afternoon. At least, I figured, as I started chopping up some vegetable, I had Jeremy all ready to go in the fall, and he would be ready to rejoin society as the kid who had gone crazy and blown his parent's house up.

It sounded crazy—it _was _crazy—but it was the only explanation that even remotely made sense as to why he would do something stupid like that.

A pair of footsteps accompanied by a beating heart, told me that Jeremy was rapidly approaching the kitchen where I was, where he would either sulk some more over the perceived notion that I was trying to "control" him, or he would ignore me completely.

I wasn't sure which one was worse.

"Hey," I said, attempting to defuse the situation by acting like the entire afternoon had never happened. "There's some chips in the pantry, and I'm going to make some-"

"I don't care. I don't want it."

Ouch.

"All this hard work for nothing?" I joked, trying to put on my best poker face, but I knew how long he could hold a grudge, and it wasn't pretty.

"You should have thought of that."

"Listen, Jer-"

"Don't do that," Jeremy interjected. "I told you I wasn't ready to go back." 

"School doesn't start for another few weeks," I pointed out. "We can always change it later if we have to."

"You should have respected my opinion."

"Well, yeah, maybe, but I also am trying to make sure that you're taken care of."

Why was he failing to see that? I was only trying to make sure that his best interests were looked after in the absence of our parents, and even more pressing recently, Alaric. Without any of those people, he would flounder unless he had someone to watch out for him.

"I can take care of myself. I don't need my big sister parenting me."

"Hey," Damon said, taking that moment to step into the kitchen where a mini-war was all but brewing. "I smell something good," he said, rubbing his hands together, either ignoring the situation with Jeremy, or staying out of it until the right comment or word brought it back up.

"Good. You can have it," Jeremy said, attempting to walk past him and out of the kitchen, but was stopped when Damon placed a restraining hand on his arm, holding him back in place.

"Damon-" I started to say, but was interrupted almost instantly.

"What gives you the right to go around and treat your sister like that?"

"Screw you-"

"No. You're done calling me names, and acting like a kicked puppy because she wants to watch out for you," Damon said. "She's been going through enough without having you there to help her feel worse about herself."

"Elena should have respected my choice," Jeremy said, looking back at me with the kind of sullen look that he used to give our parents when they punished him for something he deemed unfair.

"Maybe she should have," Damon said, "but you also need to respect the fact that your sister was only trying to look out for you, and love you. It's kind of a habit with her." 

"Whatever. Fine," Jeremy said, clearly not up to fighting it anymore as he walked out of the kitchen. A few seconds later, we could hear the faint sounds of his feet hitting the stairs as he stomped his way up to his room like a scolded child.

"Well, we told him off," Damon said, as he came to stand behind him, wrapping his arms around my waist as I finished my cooking. "What are you making?"

"Something with a vegetable in it."

"Did anyone ever tell you that vampires hate vegetables?"

"Nice try," I said with a small smile.

"What? I'm being completely serious," Damon said, smirking.

"Good to know."

"Hey," he said, placing a restraining hand on my hand to get the knife away from me. "Let's go do something."

"Like...what?"

"Something fun."

Damon's idea of "fun" happened to be doing something that we hadn't done in awhile: a road trip. The last time we had done something like that, had been when he had taken me to Georgia, and when we had gone to get Jeremy at the motel.

So much had changed between those times that it was almost dizzying as I smoothed my hair back and looked out the window. Scenery flew by us as the car traveled down the roadway. When I asked where we were going, he would only say that it wasn't far, and that was something I could live with.

"A bar?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in question.

"Yup. Figured you'd need something other than my stash of bourbon."

"I did. I do."

Sliding out of the car, we walked hand in hand inside the beat down establishment. Patrons of the bar were already seated, and clearly drunk from the way they stumbled all over the place, and bumped into each other. At least vampires had the ability to somewhat manage their liquor consumption.

"I need to check your ID," the waitress said, as she came over to wait on us.

"No, you don't," Damon said, fixing her with the kind of look that clearly meant he had compelled her.

Instead of feeling defensive over the girl, or upset that he had taken her free will away from her, I was impressed with his ability to do it so effortlessly. As I washed back the liquor that we were served, I found myself relaxing in only the kind of way that I knew Damon had intended for me all along.

"Do you feel better?"

"Yes."


	7. Chapter 7

**The Perfect Getaway **

**(part 1)**

(Damon's POV)

I wanted to do _something_ to take away some of the stress of the last few days. Or weeks. Or years. It was hard to know exactly _what _to do that would make up for all the wrongs that had been committed against us recently, especially with the worry over Stefan and his brooding MIA act, and Jeremy throwing a tantrum because he was being forced to go back to school.

Stefan was more of the overtly romantic type, but I could be that way if I wanted to be. Candlelit strolls along the beach, and overly expensive wine was one of the many ways I used to draw my women in before I either turned them, or drained them dry. This time however, I would be thinking of something that would be perfect for Elena, and something that would get the last few days off her mind.

Doing something ordinary like cooking dinner for her or taking her out, was out of the question. She did that enough as it was with the girls and Stefan, when they were still together. She seemed to like it when we went out of town briefly to have a drink.

Maybe I could do something along _those _lines.

It was more difficult than I imagined, thinking up something that would be special for the both of us without having to worry about stress or vampire drama for once. Finally, the idea snapped into my noggin like one of those annoying flashes, and even though she had been to this place before with Stefan, she still talked fondly about the memories she had of _us _being there during the time we were trying to work through that complicated as hell sire bond.

Now the only conundrum was _how _to get her there. I would have to think of something ingenious by myself since Caroline considered me akin to the scum on her shoe, and the only other friend that she had that even remotely tolerated me, was gone just like Stefan was.

Walking up the grand staircase and toward our bedroom, I figured I would start packing our things and see where that would take me. Her bag wasn't hard to spot. She had tucked it underneath the bed when she had first moved in with me officially.

Now what to pack for her. All she really needed were clothes, right? But what _kind _clothes? Running my tongue over my lips in careful thought, I went over to the dreaded underwear drawer that I had cleared out a space for, and began to carefully put items from it in the bag.

Next were the easier choices. I packed a couple pairs of jeans and some shirts for her to wear. It would be cold out near the lake, and even though vampires didn't technically need anything to keep them warm, it was still nice to have, believe me.

"Are you going somewhere?"

Instead of it being Elena, and instead of me scrambling for a reason to explain away our packed luggage, it was only baby Gilbert. He and I hadn't spoken since we had gotten into our little spat, and though I knew that he was only acting out in typical, dramatic teenage angst, it still made me furious when he was taking his "issues" out on Elena.

"Is that any of your business?" I asked, mimicking his tone of voice.

"No, but is there anything I should know?"

"Nope, but thanks for asking."

He would probably prove to be a help if I let him in on the surprise, but my pride wasn't that deflated yet for me to consider it. I zipped up the bags and threw them over my shoulder like they were a weightless piece of string, even though they would have weighed a _ton _to a normal human with all the makeup products I had packed for my girl.

"Does Elena know?" he asked, apparently not taking a hint when it was given to him.

"No," I admitted, stopping short right in the door-frame as I turned to look at him. "I'm trying to think up a surprise, okay? I think she needs a weekend away for once without having to worry about where my baby bro is, or anything like that."

"Okay," he said simply, as though that made the most natural sense in the world. "Where are you taking her?"

"Keep it down," I hissed.

Was he stupid? Or had he forgotten how sensitive our hearing was?

"Sorry," he said, rolling his judgy eyes at me as though I was being an idiot. "Where are you taking her?"

"The lake house. She was talking about it earlier this week about how much she missed it."

"Nice," Jeremy said, nodding in approval.

I felt like I needed to at _least _make sure he would be covered during the day or two that we would be gone. "Can you stay with Donovan over at Tyler's?"

"What? You don't trust me here?"

"Hell no, not as far as I can throw you, but she'll want to make sure I covered all my bases."

"Yeah, that's fine."

Grateful I had gotten _him _out of the way, I continued down the stairs and into the living room where Elena was perched on the couch, reading some thesis book, preparing for her college adventure that was starting _way _too soon as far as I was concerned.

"Hey," I said, walking over to the couch, and leaning around it to see what she was reading. "What are you reading?"

"A book...or at least I was..." she said, glancing over at the bags in my hands. "What are those for?"

"Come on," I said, with a wave of my hand. "We're leaving."

"Where?" she asked, still getting up to follow me even though she no inkling of what we were doing.

"Somewhere nice," I said, ushering her out the door.

"Okay, but where?"

"You'll see, you'll see," I said impatiently, as I unlocked the doors of my beloved Camaro and effortlessly slid our things into the trunk.

"Okay," she said, a slow but uncertain smile spreading across her face at the thought of blowing this town, even if she didn't know what the plan was yet.

"Do you trust me?"

"You know I do."

"Then you have nothing to worry about," I said, as I switched the car into drive and eased it on to the somewhat empty town streets. It was nice, the wind blowing in our hair, the music playing the kind of music that we both loved to hate, but secretly loved.

"This is nice," Elena said, after awhile of silent thought as she turned her beautiful head to look at me.

"What is?"

"This."

"I'm glad you like it, but the real surprise won't come for a little while."

"I can't wait."

I couldn't either. It was rare that we ever got to spend serious quality time together except for at night, and I couldn't ever remember a time previously when we had been able to get away as a couple. Come to think of it, this _would _be our first time.

Thinking of it in terms of that, only increased the speed I put on the car as I rolled down the wide and open freeway, glad that for once, it was just her and I without fear of anything going wrong, or life and death struggles to worry about.

"I love you," Elena said, after a moment.

"I love you too, baby."

It was obvious I had done _something _right, and I was pleased that I was the source of her happiness for the time being. When I pulled off the interstate and started traveling down the more secluded road that led to the series of lake houses that still remained in her possession, I could see a spark of recognition cross over her face.

"Damon-" she started to say.

"Surprise," I said, as I pulled into the driveway of the lake house.

"I can't believe you did this," she said, clearly either awestruck at my planning skills, or horrified. I wasn't sure which.

"Do you like it?" I ventured.

"I love it."

* * *

_I'm not usually the one to beg for reviews since I consider them to be something the writer should earn, but I would like some feedback as to how this story is progressing. I am so appreciative of the favorites and follows. It makes my day each and every time!_

_-Casey_


	8. Chapter 8

**The Perfect Getaway **

**(Part 2)**

(Elena's POV)

This was the epitome of domestic bliss. The last thing I had ever expected for Damon to do was surprise me like this. It was true I had mentioned making a journey back to my parent's cabin for old times sake, but I never imagined that he would jump the gun and plan everything out like he did. Walking through the structure was a bit like walking through old memories as each and every surface, represented something of my childhood, my past.

I had come here close to two years before with Stefan, completely and irrevocably in love with him, but that had changed to morph into something that was almost akin to friendship now than actual romance.

Lounging on the sofa that was in the conjoined living room/kitchen area, I watched as Damon stood at the chopping block, dicing up some tomatoes for the dinner that he was preparing. It was something I had watched Stefan do, and now Damon. I was beginning to wonder if it was either in the genes that made them both such good cooks, or the fact that they had picked it up naturally.

Catching my wondering gaze, he smiled.

It was such a rare sight to see that, but now that we had established ourselves as a couple, that smile was becoming more and more apparent as he turned back to the food he was preparing. It was a peaceful, calming sight, and I knew that I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.

"What are you making?" I asked, cradling the drink in my hand.

"Italian," he said, allowing the worlds to slide like silk out of his mouth.

"Where did you learn that?"

"It's in the genes," he explained. "But this is one of the only recipes I learned from my mother."

The smile faded from mouth as I carefully eased my way off the couch to go and stand beside him. He was usually an open book with me, but there were certain parts of his life that he kept guarded from me, and that included his mother, who had died in childbirth giving birth to Stefan.

"What was she like?" I asked, as I watched him move the knife in easy, fluid motions to chop the food up.

"She was very complex and extraordinary. Much like you in that department," Damon added, as he put a pan of water on the stove top to boil. "She was the only person who had the patience to put up with me, and the only one who could deal with my father."

"Did she love him?" I asked, resting my hand on top of Damon's when I could see it shaking from having to relive these memories that he had clearly buried down deep for hundreds of years.

"I think she did, but my father was too cold to ever reciprocate any of it."

I fell silent for a minute as I watched him carefully check the food he was preparing. It was such a new side to him that I was momentarily taken aback as to how to deal with this new side of him. He had never so much as picked up an _oven mitt, _and here he was making a _meal _for us, and simultaneously talking about a part of his childhood that he (and Stefan) had never clued me in on before.

"What about when she-"

"When she died?"

"I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that."

How stupid.

If anyone knew what it felt like to lose a parent suddenly, it was me. I had lost both of my adoptive parents in a single night, and also my two biological parents. If anyone knew what that pain felt like, it was me.

"It was raining," Damon said, turning his eyes away from me as though he was afraid I would see a weakness in him if he showed how affected he was by that memory. "She had been in labor for hours, and it was really starting to affect her, and well, there came Stefan, and a couple hours later she died from the strain of it."

"What about your father?"

"What about him?" Damon asked with a scoff. "He was physically available to us during that time, but he checked out emotionally when they carted her body off in a casket."

"Damon-"

"You don't have to say anything, Elena. It's pathetic, the whole thing was."

"No," I said, shaking my head as I forced him to put down the wooden spoon he had been stirring the pasta around in. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you lost your mother, I'm sorry you never felt love or approval from your father. I'm _sorry, _Damon."

_I'm sorry I forced you to relive something so painful and upsetting_, I thought, but wisely held that remark back when he, to my extreme astonishment, returned the hug I had been trying to give him without much success.

For a few seconds, we held each other until he seemed to shake off whatever had been keeping him down, and returned to the meal at hand.

"So what are you making?" I asked, trying to make him forget the conversation we had been having. "It smells _delicious_."

I couldn't discern anything from the bubbling water of pasta, and the other pan of sauce, but I knew that it had to be something delicious. The garlic bread he had put in the oven a few minutes earlier, was emitting a smell that watered my mouth.

"A pasta dish that my mother used to make."

"Are you serious?" I asked, touched that he was not only making me dinner, but making me something his mother had used to make for them.

"I am indeed. She told me something when she was teaching me this."

"What?"

"She told me to share it with someone that I really loved."

"And now you're sharing it with me," I said, the realization slowly crossing over my face.

"Taste this," he said, digging the wooden spoon into the sauce pan and slowly digging some out for me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," he said, rolling his eyes at my hesitation. "It's not poisoned, Elena."

"I know."

Smiling, I waited until he had blown on it a little bit, before allowing him to guide the spoon into my waiting mouth. It tasted amazing, and once again, I wondered if there wasn't anything Damon _couldn't _do.

"Do you like it?"

I nodded; it seemed I was only capable of that one response. "Yes."

"Then my work is complete."

Instead of eating at the dinner table the way that Stefan and I had eaten (and my parents and Jeremy and I before us), we ate in our bedroom, the one that I had chosen that was free of the memories of both my parents and Stefan.

"I have to say," I said, as I allowed Damon to place a noodle in my mouth. "This is the best weekend I've ever had in my entire life."

"Don't say that," he warned. "It's still young."

"I know that, but no one has ever done something like this for me before."

"What about Stefan?"

"Not even him," I said, as I placed my plate on the nightstand, before turning and laying my head on Damon's comforting chest.

"I'm glad," he said, as he reached over and shut off the lights, bathing us in complete darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Perfect Getaway **

**(part 3)**

(Damon's POV)

It seemed impossible to me that I could be given such a wondrous gift as being allowed to have this time with the girl that I loved. It seemed impossible that I had not only won the lottery in terms of women, and that I had achieved such a great victory over the mess in my heart that Katherine left behind, but that she had made the conscious (and forever) choice of being with _me_.

This escape at the lake house had been the one thing we both had needed for some time. If it wasn't the universe trying to tear us apart at the seams, or Caroline and her nagging voice in Elena's ear, it was her brother giving her the stink eye for her efforts in trying to further his education.

We had definitely needed this time together. After the dinner, we both fell asleep, stomachs full to the brim, and hearts content with everything that I never thought I deserved, or would even get in being in the shadow of my seemingly "perfect" brother.

In sleep, my hand had traveled to hers. When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that our hands had remained together even in rest. Sticky from being pressed together for so long, I gently extracted it from hers, and got up to walk back out into the living room.

We both needed to hunt (or get some blood bags from the local blood bank) but the options were scarce. The hunger that we vampires felt, was much stronger and urgent than a normal human when they got hungry. I felt as though I could rip the head off any poor, wandering soul that happened across the place, but I knew that would only serve to bridge a gap between Elena and I, and that was something I couldn't afford after all this time of trying to make her love me.

Rubbing a hand over my face, I had half a mind to call Jeremy and have him make himself useful by bringing some of our blood bags, but before my hand had even traveled down to my pocket where my phone was, the distinct, soft footsteps of Elena's, reached my ears.

"Hey," she smiled. "Good morning."

"Morning," I said, turning my head briefly to look at her.

She was still dressed in the oversized shirt of mine that she had elected to wear to bed last night. One of the downfalls of our relationship was that she now felt as though she had free reign to raid my closet and wear whatever shirt met her fancy.

"How did you sleep?" she asked, coming to stand beside me.

"Like a baby," I replied smoothly.

"Good. Is something wrong?" she asked after a beat.

"I um, I need something to _drink_," I said, putting emphasis on the word so she would know how serious it was quickly becoming. "And so do you."

"Oh, okay," she said, realization slowly crossing across that beautiful face of hers. "Do we have more of the blood bags?"

Not that we hadn't come prepared for something like this happening, but we had already gone through the meager supply that we had remembered to bring. Now when we really needed them, we were out.

"We finished two of them on the way here," I reminded her. "And then we finished the last one the day before."

Vampires could survive on human food for a short time, but it was the blood that we really craved, and it was the one thing that could prove to be the death of us if we didn't do something to satisfy that hunger that I could feel circulating in both of us.

"What do you want to do?" she asked.

"We could do the conventional method of snatch, eat, erase, but I know that you probably don't want that."

The one aspect of vampirism that Elena had flat-out rejected had been the notion that all vampires should follow legend and drink blood from humans. Even though I had tried to get her to see that we didn't do any actual harm by drinking their blood, that compassion chip she had on her shoulder, was a tough one to break.

"I don't want to hurt people, Damon," she whispered, her bottom lip jutting out as she tried to hold back her true feelings about doing that to someone.

I got it. I didn't blame her for wanting to spare someone the grief of having their neck serve as a blood bank, but what she didn't get, was that it was all erased with a simple mind compulsion trick that saved them the agony of knowing that a vampire had given them a temporary anemic condition.

"I know, I know. So what do you suggest we do?"

"I know that hunting animals isn't your preferred method," she began uneasily, "but it could satisfy you in a pinch, right? It could take away some of the hunger?"

"Yeah. Just throw me a couple of bears and mountain lions, and I'll be dandy."

"Damon-"

"It's _fine_, Elena. I should have brought more bags for us. We'll go out and do the bunny diet, and then when we get back home, we can treat ourselves to some _real_ blood."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Even though I would have liked to have picked a fast victim and drained part of his or her blood, I knew that Elena would probably carry that guilt with her for the rest of her life, and I didn't want to be the reason for her carrying even more of that on her shoulders.

"Let's go, then."

To my extreme astonishment, Elena's compassion toward the suffering of humans, extended to the animal kingdom as well. It was absolutely infuriating to watch her as she hesitated on the perfect prey: A deer. A full-size buck that would satisfy that hunger that had been brewing inside of her.

Leaning down as though she was about to start a race, I could feel her start to shake as she imagined killing the defenseless animal. Her compassion had been crippling when she was human, but now as a vampire, it was damaging to her as she looked back up at me, as though begging me to make this somehow easier on her.

"Damon," she started to say, choking back on a soft cry. "It's an animal. It can't help itself if I-"

"Elena," I said gently, trying my best to be patient with her and help her through this process. "Breathe," I instructed, as I gently palmed her face, pushing her hair behind her ears.

"But I-"

"Look at the deer. Do you hear the blood rushing through its neck?"

Elena nodded, never taking her eyes off her prey. I knew that she was tempted to run and grab it, and I wanted that for her, but I knew that she would hold herself back until the last possible moment.

"Yes," she whispered.

"That's the carotid artery," I said, as I ran my hands up and down her slender arms. "It's the main port that sends oxygen from the head to the neck. If you bite down on that crucial artery, you'll end the suffering for the animal, and you'll be able to get your fill faster."

Elena nodded. "I know...I know."

Stefan had taught her all of this during vampire 101 when she first had transitioned, but somehow she seemed to have forgotten all of that during that time period.

"Then go get it," I urged. "You'll feel better once you do."

Nodding as though she were in a trance, Elena crept foreword a few inches, slow and precise as the animal that she was hunting, and then she pounced. The animal struggled needlessly for a few seconds, before going limp as she hit the artery that I instructed her to.

Even though I was suffering and needed to find something to satisfy my own cravings, I let her finish the deer completely, before moving on. It was clear from the sidelong looks she threw me as we continued walking in search of our next prey, that she felt guilty for draining it dry without including me in on the little feast.

"Damon-"

"What?"

"I'm sorry that I didn't let you drink some. I mean, you were the one who wanted this. You were the one who suggested we go out, and I just sat there and drank like some out of control crackhead."

"Elena, stop. You needed that blood more than I did. We'll find another deer, or better yet, a bear, and we'll feast on it together."

"Together?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yes."

It didn't take us long to find something else to set our sights on. This time, it wasn't a bear like I envisioned for us, but a mountain lion that was stalking something for itself, having no idea that a vampire couple was behind it, ready to pounce.

Deciding to spare Elena the grief of performing the kill, I went ahead and did it myself. Once I beckoned her over to the carcass when I successfully ended its life, she didn't waste a second as we both got our share before admitting we had satisfied ourselves, and went back to the lake house.

* * *

It was almost disappointing to realize that we had to leave to go back to our regular lives in Mystic Falls. Being able to escape from all the petty drama that centered around us with everyone from Caroline to even Jeremy, had been an escape that we didn't even realize we needed until it had been right upon us.

I could tell just from looking at Elena that she was disappointed. I didn't blame her.

We were both silent as I started the car up and rolled down the dirt driveway and out onto the normal town road. Sighing deeply, she looked over at me before reaching down to grasp my hand as it rested near the console.

Smiling softly, I allowed the touch as I turned onto the highway, the quickest way to ensure that we would get home safely. The drive didn't take as long as I initially envisioned, and for that I was grateful. We were both whipped from the journey, and just wanted to get a good rest in before resuming our lives.

"It feels good to be back," Elena admitted, speaking for the first time since we had left the lake house.

"If you say so."

"Stop," she said, grinning.

"You want to be back here?" I asked incredulously. "With Barbie whispering in your ear about me, and your brother acting like the universe revolves around him?"

"I can't help anything to do with Caroline, but I'll talk to Jeremy and see if I can make him understand a few things."

"Good luck."

Walking through the foyer, we immediately turned to the staircase in the hall and started up to deposit our things in our room. Passing through the hall, Elena stopped short. Nearly running into her, I was about to ask whether or not something happened, before her soft gasp answered the question for me.

"Jeremy's gone."


	10. Chapter 10

**The Search**

(Elena's POV)

It couldn't be real that my brother was missing. It couldn't be real that he made the conscious decision to run and leave without so much as saying goodbye, or even where he was going. The note that he left on the outside of the door, was still clutched tightly in my hand when I felt Damon's hand on my shoulder, silently signaling to me that I had spent enough time in complete shock, and needed to act.

Turning around slowly, I could feel tears burning the corners of my eyes as I looked into the same blue eyes that had brought me so much comfort over the years, and even though it failed to do it this time when my mind was going ninety miles an hour with all the what ifs and whys, I _did _feel like I wasn't alone in this, as he rubbed my arm gently, letting me know that he was there, that he would help me.

"Jeremy's gone," I said, stating the obvious.

We had had such a great weekend at the lake house, and now that Jeremy had decided to leave and run away, it put a taint on that whole time we spent together. We had both checked in regularly with him, and he said things had been going okay. He wasn't snapping at me anymore, and he seemed to be accepting of the things I had done to make sure he still had a great future ahead of him.

Apparently his brightness was because he had already made the choice to leave. Shaking my head in complete astonishment at the turn of events that had suddenly befallen our lives, I walked further into the open bedroom and started looking for any miniscule signs or clues that would tell me something about his current location.

There was nothing that I could see. No stone had been left unturned. No book or CD had been left out of place. The bedroom held little clues as to where he had resorted to running, but when I looked down at the note that I had crumbled up in my hand, I figured it wouldn't hurt to read it again for the twentieth time that minute.

Smoothing it out with difficult, I inhaled a deep breath as I read through it again, picking apart each and every sentence he had scrawled out to me, and what it could possibly mean. He wasn't incapable of taking care of himself, but with so many bad things out there that he wasn't able to protect himself from, it definitely upped the concern level, and made me feel almost frantic to find and protect him.

"He said that he needed to get away," I said aloud, wracking my brain for what that simple phrase could mean. "He said he needed to leave...but _why_?"

Not that things had necessarily been easy lately with everything happening with Stefan going missing, and me getting on his nerves because of me "forcing" him to return to school, but I never thought he would do something drastic like running.

"Elena," Damon said, momentarily distracting me from the issue at hand when he forced me to turn around and face him. "We will find him. I _promise _you."

It was hard not to feel confident when he spoke so assuredly to me. To him, there was no way that he would allow me to feel this kind of pain for too long without doing something to stop it. Even though he and Jeremy butted heads more times than they got along, I knew at the end of the day, he would put aside his own issues to help me solve whatever was happening with him, and this time was no different.

"But where could he be? It's not like he has a set place that he likes to go to!"

"Well, think," Damon said patiently, calmly. "Tell me where he always liked to go to when he was having a problem, or when he needed to get away."

There were a thousand of those places all over Mystic Falls. The old hangout at school where he used to deal drugs after school after our parents died, and then the cemetery where he and Vickie used to gather with her stoner friends.

"The school," I said weakly, listing out all the possible locations for my brother. "The woods near the cemetery."

"Anywhere else?" he asked softly.

I knew that he was trying to induce any amount of calm in me that he could, but it was falling on deaf ears until we actually had a location for him. It was terrifying not knowing where he was when something serious could be happening to him a in world that was full of creatures that could do harm to him.

"Denver where some of our—our friends lived," I said shakily, "he was happy there but that's only because he was _compelled _to be happy there."

When Damon compelled Jeremy, on my orders, to live out a "normal" life in Denver with some of our family friends, he sent me regular updates on how he was doing, and he seemed happy, something that had been hard to come by in a world that was inhabited with vampires and hybrids.

"Do you think he'd go there to escape his problems here?"

"I don't know—I don't know. Anything is possible, I guess."

"Why don't you call your friends there, and I'll go through the cemetery and school and see if he's crashing there."

"Thank you."

Damon nodded softly, not even returning my thanks because I knew that he was more than welcome to do it. I knew that, to make me feel better, he would search the ends of the earth until he found something solid about my brother to go on.

The silence that hung around the house after Damon left, was palpable. To escape it, I went downstairs into the living room where he kept his bourbon decanters. Usually, the bourbon was too strong for my liking, but to escape the stress that I could feel circulating in my heart, I poured myself some anyway.

Looking down at my phone, I dialed the number that was saved on my contacts list, and called our friends. To my disappointment, they had not seen or heard from him in several weeks, and had not seen him around the Denver area.

Sinking down onto the couch, I shook my head in disbelief at what was happening as I tried to reign in my emotions the best I could. It was nearly impossible, though, and that was why when Damon walked through the door, I almost pounced on him out of the sheer fact that I _needed _to know where my missing brother was.

"Well?" I demanded, not taking the time for 'hellos' or 'welcome backs.'

"His stuff was in the cemetery," Damon said, holding up Jeremy's bag of things. "He can't be too far from here."

"Thank you so much," I said, nearly buckling under the relief that I felt. Even though we still didn't know where he was, at least he was somewhere in the general region of this town.

"I'm going to go check the Grille right now."

"I'm coming."

"Okay."

* * *

Walking through the crowded restaurant, yielded little results. Neither Matt or Jeremy was on duty that day, but that didn't mean that he wasn't somewhere hanging out with his buddies, or wallowing in whatever was on his mind, alone.

Deciding to take a chance and walk through to the kitchen that was off limits to customers, I was struck by the fact that he was there. Jeremy, my little brother who had decided to run away and had obviously chickened out, was standing in the kitchen conversing with some young waitress.

It was clear from the way that he hung his head that he was feeling badly about what he had done when he saw me, but that was nothing compared to the anger that _I _felt at having worried endlessly about him until I had been assured of his location and safety.

"Come on," I said, marching over to him and towing him away from his friend. "We're leaving."

"Get off me!" He protested, obviously embarrassed that his big sister was physically escorting him out of the building, but that was nothing compared to what I had been through in worrying about him for hours. "I was going to come back!"

"Yeah? Well, you could have fooled me," I said through gritted teeth. "I found a note on your door, we found your things in the cemetery. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't, alright?"

"That much is clear."

Gradually loosening my grip on him, we walked out to the main part of the Grille where Damon was still waiting. Locking eyes with us, he gave me a nod before turning to Jeremy, who I knew would have to face some of his wrath before being let off the hook.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Damon demanded, as we walked out of the restaurant together.

"I didn't want to be controlled anymore. I didn't want people who weren't even my _parents _telling me what to do," he fumed.

"Wow," I said, shaking my head. "That's a low blow."

"I wasn't thinking right. I packed my stuff and left, but halfway through, I changed my mind and went to work to see if I could take up an extra shift. That girl that you dragged me away from, Elena? That was my _boss_."

"I don't care _who _it was," I said, as we got in our places in the car. "You scared me to _death_, Jeremy. I thought something might have happened to you, and that I would never see you again."

"I was _fine_," he said, rolling his eyes as though I was being ridiculous in reacting the way I was.

"But your sister didn't know that," Damon said. "You need to apologize to her right now, and actually mean it."

I automatically tensed when Damon made the request known to Jeremy that he needed to show remorse for what he had done. I agreed, he needed to be made aware of the gravity of his actions and how dangerous it was in the world we lived in, but I could only imagine how he would take that coming from Damon.

"It's between her and me," Jeremy said quietly, not putting up as much of an attitude as I thought he would. Maybe he was beginning to feel some of what I had gone through, and maybe he felt badly about it.

"Technically yes," Damon conceded, "but when you put her through something like that, and I see her fall apart at the seams, that then makes it _my _business as well."

Jeremy was silent as we continued to drive through the town back to the boarding house. "I'm sorry," he finally said.

"It's okay," I said. "But you're grounded."

"No questions," Damon added.

* * *

_Reviews please:)_


	11. Chapter 11

**The Letter**

(Damon's POV)

I knew that one of these days, Elena would be getting the letter that would only further her educational aspirations. It wasn't anything that was new to me, and it wasn't like I didn't _want _her to move off to college and experience the kinds of thing she would never get to have as a human, but it was just the slightest bit disconcerting to realize that she would be so far away from me and home, when any number of things could happen that would force us apart.

Stefan being one of those concerns, and her friends being another. Stefan had mostly stayed out of our relationship, for which I was surprisingly grateful, but that didn't mean that Caroline (and even Bonnie) wouldn't do something to make her change her mind.

It was hard to believe that this girl had done everything to prove her love for me, and I was _still _questioning it because of my natural-born insecurities that had always been shoved in my face when Stefan had been the top pick over me.

Regardless of my own fears, I knew I would have to shut up before I said something that put a dent in our relationship. It wasn't fair to pit all that on her, and that was what I tried to remember as I walked into our bedroom, and saw her seated on the edge of the bed, a letter clasped tightly in her hand as she glanced up at the sound of my approach.

"What are you reading?" I asked, as I walked over and sat down beside her.

"I got a letter from Whitmore."

"College?" I ventured.

It was the day I had both been dreading and anticipating with equal measure.

"Yeah. I got in."

"Did you?" I said, trying to keep the smile firmly planted on my face so she wouldn't see how freaked out I was starting to become about the whole idea of her leaving.

"Yeah, I did," she said, shaking her head in disbelief, as though it honestly surprised her that she was smart enough to get into a great school like that, and the school that her entire family had gone to and graduated from.

"Well, that doesn't surprise me. You being so freakishly intelligent," I said.

"Stop it," she said, giving me a friendly shove.

"What? I mean it."

"I know you do," she said, leaning foreword to give me a gentle kiss on the lips.

She went to pull away, but I continued the kiss as my hand traveled seemingly of its own free will, up to cradle the side of her beautiful face. Moaning in sheer delight, she leaned toward me even further as I gently guided her to lay back down against the soft pillows on our bed.

"Damon," she gasped.

"I love you," I whispered, as I tucked some of her hair behind her ears.

"I...I love you, too," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You doubted it before?" I teased, as I ran my finger along her bottom lip which was jutting out adorably.

"Not for one second," she breathed, as she returned my kisses with a passionate fervor that I was completely unaccustomed coming from her.

"Good."

Giggling, she pulled me closer toward her as she pulled the blanket up and over us. It was moments like this that I loved spending with her, because that meant we were free from whatever problems the earth had that revolved around us, and we actually had time to just _be _for once.

"It's going to be hard to spend time like this once I go away," she mused quietly, a quick flash of concern flitting across her face.

"Yes," I said, as I touched my lips to hers. "It will be, but we can always make adjustments when we need to."

If need be, I would find it in my schedule to steal time away from Mystic Falls and go see her like the pathetic boyfriend I was, but more than likely, I would have to wait for her to come back on the designated days she had off from classes.

"That's very true."

* * *

I don't know how long we laid in that position, but we were both exhausted from the morning already, and wanted to escape from the world that demanded our constant attention. Unfortunately, the people in this town, or Jeremy, wouldn't allow that. It was past noon, I think, by the time he rudely barged into our bedroom.

"Jeremy," Elena gasped, making sure every single part of her exposed body was covered by the blanket. "What are you doing in here?"

"I...I thought that I was off restriction today," he said, referencing the incident that had gotten him a severe grounding from both Elena and me.

"You _were_," I said, fixing him with the kind of glare that momentarily had him backing up from the room.

"Damon," Elena said, rolling her eyes at me as though I was being unreasonable. "It's fine, Jeremy-"

"But seriously, learn to knock next time," I said.

"Yeah, I will. Now that I know that you two-"

"Okay!" Elena said, holding up her hands. "We'll be down in a few minutes-"

"Or hours."

"Damon!"

"Kidding," I said.

Only partially, though. I would have loved to have had more time to spend with her when it was just us, but I knew that after Jeremy had walked in on us, that would be an impossibility.


	12. Chapter 12

**A Party and Packing **

(Elena's POV)

It was hard to believe that the summer of my dreams was winding down to only a few days before I had to pack up and leave for Whitmore college. It wasn't far from Mystic Falls, and more importantly, Damon and Jeremy, but it still left me with a sort of empty, hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach at the idea of leaving them behind, especially since their track record of getting along, wasn't exactly spotless.

And I didn't want to leave Damon.

We were barely through the summer, and there was still so much we had yet to do to establish our relationship more firmly. It didn't matter that I would only be an hour away, it was the fact that I wouldn't get to see him every day like I was so used to, and I would have to rely on texts and phone calls in order to keep our precious bond with each other alive.

Sighing deeply, I dropped down to my knees as I reached underneath the bed to retrieve my duffel bag that had seen the worst of the worst over the years. From being thrown up on during my first plane ride when I was ten, to sleepovers at Caroline and Bonnie's, and now finally college and dorm rooms and crazy frat parties.

Going over to the dresser where Damon had cleared out space for me, I reached through the clothes, selecting the ones that I would be needing the most, while keeping some for when I came and stayed during breaks.

Tears momentarily blinded my line of vision as I thought about leaving him, leaving Jeremy. It was too soon for me, and even though I knew I couldn't do anything about that unless I wanted to risk facing the wrath of not only the school, but Caroline, I would have to leave and put up with it somehow.

Shaking off the tears as much as I could, I zipped up the bag and placed it on the bed until the absolute last possible minute. I didn't have to leave until tomorrow, and before that, Damon was throwing me (and my friends) a going away party here at the mansion.

If that didn't prove to Caroline that he was sincere about me and our romance, I didn't know what would and I hope that she would see it as a step in the right direction, as I went to the closet where I had hung my dress up until the moment came to slip it on.

It was beautiful—a black strapless dress with a zip in the back.

Caroline had picked it out for me on a shopping excursion she had insisted on dragging me to. Eyeballing the dress uncertainly, I carefully slipped into it. It didn't look horrible on me, but it wasn't me, and that was what I was concerned about as I appraised myself in the mirror.

"You look gorgeous," a voice from behind me said.

Turning, I saw Damon standing in the doorway to our room. His arms were folded against his chest as he walked further into the room to stand next to me at the mirror.

How could I have gotten so lucky to find someone who cared so deeply and irrevocably about me? It took my breath away that someone could love another with such a surprising amount of intensity. I had lied to myself (and Damon) for _years _about my feelings for him out of fear of what others would think, and out of the fear of making the wrong choice, but I now knew for certain that I made the right choice for _me_.

"Thank you," I whispered. "Can you get my zipper?"

"Absolutely."

As his fingers briefly came in contact with the exposed skin on my back before he zipped it up, I felt a shudder pass through me as a result of the contact. It took all of my self-control not to turn around and kiss him. Instead, I focused on my face in the mirror as he zipped up my dress, before resting his hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Not just for this," I elaborated. "But for throwing me this party."

"Well, I figured it would be the last big blowout before you officially became a college student," Damon remarked, as he spun me around gently to capture my lips in one of his incredibly sweet (and gentle) kisses.

It was hard to believe that a pair of lips could hold so much love and kindness in them and could convey that so effortlessly in a single kiss, but he was capable of doing that. Momentarily forgetting the night's events, I became lost in the embrace I found myself in, before he regretfully pulled back.

"Why did you stop?" I breathed.

"Because your public awaits you, and I think Caroline would serve my head on a silver platter if I made you late to the last big hurrah before you two leave."

"I still can't believe Bonnie's not going," I said, shaking my head in complete disbelief that my best friend would still be on her extended road trip with her father, and would miss out on college initiation.

"Well, she'll catch up when she gets back," Damon assured me. "Plus, whatever she misses, I'm sure she'll more than make up for later on."

"I suppose."

"Come on," Damon said, offering me his arm. "Enough worrying for one night."

"Okay."

* * *

As predicted, the party was huge. Damon had really gone all out to make sure that my last weekend spent in Mystic Falls with any degree of permanency, was a success. People I had known from years back during my formative years, and people that I knew from Mystic Falls High, were all there to send Caroline and I off with a bang.

I tried to mingle with the guests like I knew I was supposed to, and even went so far as to try a keg stand that Caroline insisted I experience, but it was all superficial stuff to me. It didn't matter when I could be spending it with the one person who I would be missing while I was away.

Damon.

He stood in a corner, quietly observing every single thing that went on in his house. The last thing he wanted was for someone to spill something on his beloved French rugs, but I knew that he was more concerned about making sure that I was alright, especially since crowds weren't my favorite thing on the planet.

Politely extracting myself from the throng of people who had come to send me off, I swayed in time with the pop music over to Damon. He smiled when he saw me approach, and instantly took me in his arms when I pressed it.

"Care to dance with me?" I whispered, already refusing to take "no" for an answer, and began leading him out on the dance floor. Stefan had always been the one to refuse dancing, but Damon was fairly good at it, and loved to have a good time regardless.

"My brother is the one who's the stinker about dancing," Damon said, as he allowed me to lead him out to the makeshift dance floor. "Me? I love to bust a move," he said, as he made some exaggerated dance move that was obviously designed to make me laugh, which it succeeded in doing.

"I can see that," I said, as I wound my arms around his neck, pulling him close. "Do you know any slower moves, Mr. Salvatore?"

"I know the waltz," Damon said softly, as he began twirling me in circles.

"Hmm...I like that one."

"Well, then it's all yours."

"Do you think we'll still be able to do this when I go away?"

I meant more than just the dancing, and he knew it. Would we be able to still maintain this incredible connection we both had with each other? Or would distance put a dent on the whole thing?

"I'm not worried about it," Damon said.

"Good."

"I love you, Elena."

"I love you too, Damon."

* * *

_This is the last official chapter of the story, but I will still provide updates should my muse allow me to. In the meantime, look out for my new story called _**Fire and Rain **_which should be in the next hour or two. _

_Thank you all so much for the plethora of reviews, favorites and follows. That means the literal world to me. Thank you!_


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